The King and Queen visit Blekinge County — watch a film here

The King and Queen at Ronneby Spa Park. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

On Saturday 6 April, The King and Queen visited Blekinge County.

At Café Mandeltårtan in Villa Fridhem. Photo: royalcourt.se

17:23 The King and Queen crossed the River Ronneby to Villa Fridhem, formerly King Oskar II's hunting lodge. It is said that King Oskar II ate almond tart here, and this dish was served to The King and Queen.

The Future: Children aged between 3 and 5 show The Queen their "workshop". Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

17:03 Station 5 — The Future. Children aged between 3 and 5 showed their "workshop", where they have been working with concrete and clay. 16:54 Station 4 — The Present. The company Water Jet Sweden demonstrated its water cutting jet. Using ordinary water, high pressure and a little sand, the jet can cut through virtually any material. This is a practical example of environmentally friendly technology. 16:47 Kerstin Erkers told The King and Queen about the Kockum enamelling plant, which was located in Ronneby between 1893 and 1971.

A journey through time at Brunnshallarna. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

The King and Queen at Brunnshallarna. Photo: royalcourt.se

16:40 The King and Queen were taken on a journey through time at Brunnshallarna, starting with the Danish era, and followed by the flourishing trading town, industrial history, the present and the future. Nils Ingmar Thorell was the guide for the tour. 16:32 Nils Ingmar Thorell explained that an oak tree will be planted in the park to commemorate The King and Queen's visit. 1,400 children in Ronneby Municipality are also working together to create a commemorative work of art. 16:31 Chairman of the Municipal Council Nils Ingmar Thorell welcomed The King and Queen to Ronneby Spa Park, which in 2005 was named Sweden's most beautiful park. 16:27 The King and Queen arrived at Ronneby Spa Park. 16:14 Berit Andnor Bylund, how did the County Administrative Board come up with the programme for The King and Queen's visit today? "Obviously, there were very many people involved in the visit. There were discussions with the municipalities, and we on the County Administrative Board sifted through the suggestions to ensure that the programme would flow smoothly. The public also provided ideas. For example, many people wanted to include Ronneby, where we will be arriving shortly. It was important to strike a good balance between the destinations we will be visiting, and then of course there were geographic considerations. It's been a mammoth task, but it's also been great fun. I love seeing such commitment throughout the county! This has been particularly evident in the number of people who want to meet The King and Queen today. Just now at Stortorget, for example, it was impossible to estimate how many people had turned up. And in Olofström, it felt like the whole town was there!"

The King and Queen are shown around by Production Manager Roger Elfmark. To the right is Alexander Kara, Site Manager for ABB's High Voltage Cables division. Photo: Morgan Karlsson/ABB

15:37 The King and Queen were given a tour of the production operations. This included a demonstration of how a conductor, the inner core of the cable, is made. This is then enclosed in plastic. 15:11 The King and Queen were welcomed by Alexander Kara, Site Manager with responsibility for ABB's cable operations in Karlskrona and in Huntersville, USA. Johan Söderström, CEO of ABB in Sweden, then took over. He began by explaining that ABB sponsors both Childhood and WCYF, and works to ensure that ABB deals with children's rights issues. ABB has almost 9,000 employees in Sweden, and a presence at 30 locations. ABB in Karlskrona is growing the fastest, and will have doubled in size by 2015. Marine power cables are manufactured in Karlskrona. There is great demand for these, and they make projects such as offshore wind power plants and offshore platforms possible. A metre of cable weighs 100 kg. ABB also installs these cables, which are buried three metres beneath the seabed.

The King and Queen arrive at ABB High Voltage Cables in Karlskrona. Photo: Morgan Karlsson/ABB

15:06 The King and Queen arrived at ABB High Voltage Cables in Verkö. 14:51 The party got back on the coach and headed for ABB High Voltage Cables in Verkö, Karlskrona. During the journey, Monica Strandhag from Stena Line Scandinavia AB spoke about their focus since the mid-1990s on Eastern Europe. The company Karlskrona Baltic Port is co-owned by Stena Line and Karlskrona Municipality. The vision is to expand capacity in order to reach further east, where major growth is taking place.

Bengt-Åke Claesson, The King and Queen and Henrik Ny after the presentation of Green Charge Southeast. Photo: royalcourt.se

14:25 After lunch, Henrik Ny, a senior lecturer at Blekinge Institute of Technology and project manager for Green Charge Southeast, and Bengt-Åke Claesson, Site Manager at CGI Karlskrona, spoke about the Green Charge Southeast project. The project is a partnership between businesses and municipalities in southeast Sweden to introduce electric vehicles and charging facilities. Electric cars is an area where Sweden is trailing behind, with many efforts but a lack of coordination. Green Charge was formed just over two years ago, with the aim of contributing towards Sweden reaching its set target of being independent of fossil fuels by 2030.

The King and Queen greet guests in the Green Room before lunch at the County Governor's official residence. Photo: royalcourt.se

Photo: royalcourt.se

13:01 Lunch was served at the County Governor's official residence. 12:43 The drum troop Replay from Karlskrona Cultural School performed at Klaipedaplatsen.

12:37 The Swedish Navy's Music Corps played Under the Blue and Yellow Flag.

The King gives his speech at Stortorget in Karlskrona. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

12:29 The King gave his speech. In his speech, The King said: "It was here in Karlskrona that I collected my first uniform as a young naval cadet. Naturally, I have many fine memories from the naval yard's heyday."

12:25 Chairman of the Municipal Council Peter Glimvall welcomed The King and Queen to Karlskrona. He gave a brief speech in which he spoke about Karlskrona and its defence traditions, and how much has changed since The King completed his military service as Crown Prince. He also mentioned the town's central location. From here, it is possible to travel by boat to Central Europe, by train to Copenhagen and Denmark, and by air to many other destinations. 12:12 Dock Yard Superintendent Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721-1808) and his contemporaries, represented by actors in period costume, spoke about the history of Karlskrona.

The Queen is welcomed by a theatrical company at Stortorget in Karlskrona. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

The King and Queen arrive in a Cadillac which once belonged to King Gustaf VI Adolf. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/Scanpix

12:10 The King and Queen arrived at Stortorget.

Approaching Karlskrona. Photo: royalcourt.se

11:56 The King and Queen arrived at Karlskrona. 11:31 The King and Queen left Olofström. They then continued towards Karlskrona. 11:21 The King and Queen left Folkets Hus in a 1933 Volvo PV 654. The cars in the cortège are from Olofström Motor Museum.

The King at the special shelf which was arranged for The King and Queen's visit to the library in Olofström. Photo: royalcourt.se

11:04 The King and Queen spoke with head librarian Ann Johnsson, who explained about the library and all the cultural activities held there. There is a room dedicated to Harry Martinson, including some of his private book collection.

Children from Kyrkhult School present their school work to The King and Queen. The children have worked with the municipality to create a bathing place. Photo: royalcourt.se

10:46 Children from Kyrkhult School talked about their project to create a bathing place. They worked together with the municipality, and the children were involved in the construction project. This is an example of how children are at the centre of the municipality's work. The children from Jämshög Recreation Centre are actively involved in cultural activities, currently sculpture. They have taken part in art tours, and have made their own statues from various materials. 10:40 At Aniara Park (named after the poetic cycle by Harry Martinson, who was born in Olofström), Kjell-Åke Karlsson pointed out one of the many Carl Eldh statues in Olofström.

Olofström. Waiting to meet The King and Queen. Photo: royalcourt.se

10:16 The King and Queen arrived in Olofström. Chairman of the Municipal Council Kjell-Åke Karlsson welcomed The King and Queen and talked about Olofström. This is a municipality with a clear focus on children, and was named Cultural Municipality of the Year in 2013.

The King and Queen en route to Olofström and Blekinge County. Photo: royalcourt.se

09:15 Berit Andnor Bylund, County Governor of Blekinge, welcomed The King and Queen to the day in Blekinge County. She began by speaking about two causes for celebration: The King and Queen's visit, and the fact that Karlskrona had remained in the Swedish Ice Hockey Premier League. She then spoke about Blekinge, which is one of Sweden's smallest counties and provinces. Blekinge has just 153,000 inhabitants and five municipalities. Karlskrona is the county seat. Discussions are currently being held on the possibility of forming a large region together with Skåne, Blekinge, Kalmar and Kronoberg. Blekinge became Swedish under the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658.

The programme for The King and Queen's visit on Saturday 6 April

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09:00 County Governor of Skåne Margareta Pålsson hands over hosting duties to County Governor of Blekinge Berit Andnor Bylund. 10:20 The King and Queen arrive in Olofström. 12:00 The King and Queen arrive at Stortorget in Karlskrona. The King gives a speech. 13:00 Lunch at the County Governor's official residence. 14:15 Presentation of the Green Charge Southeast project. 14:40 Departure by coach for a visit to ABB High Voltage Cables in Verkö, Karlskrona. 16:15 The King and Queen arrive at Ronneby Spa Park. 16:30 The King and Queen visit Brunnshallarna. A journey through the history of Ronneby.

County visits 2013

In connection with The King's 40th jubilee, The King and Queen will be visiting all of Sweden's 21 counties during the year.